It is a curious fact that when cricket was first becoming popular in England, in the latter half of the 18th century, all bowlers were either spinners or had great ambitions to be. This was because at the time bowling referred to the action we now associate with ten-pin bowling: rolling the ball along the surface of the earth, from bended knee, as if making a proposal of marriage to the distant batsman. A bowler's best hope during this, the dawn of the game, was for a molehill, foxhole, or adder enclave to impart deviation and so befuddle the batsman. When, finally, bowlers were allowed to give the ball air - probably around 1770 - their under-arm actions couldn't generate much pace. So they relied on spin.

All the reports, including those of John Nyren, author of cricket's first notable work of literature The Young Cricketer's Tutor, show that the earliest air bowlers, men such as Edward "Lumpy" Stevens and Lamborn, the "Little Farmer", used "twist" to break the ball from off to leg or, more commonly, leg to off. The round-arm and over-arm revolutions were many decades away alas, so bowling was a twirlyman's task. This pattern continued for so long that, rightly understood, the modern dominance of pace bowling is akin to a decades-long aberration from the norm. The history of mystery didn't leave much space for pace.

On July 15, 1822, a maverick named John Willes, who had been pushing the boundaries of the laws of the game for over a decade, bowled a round-arm delivery for Kent against MCC at Lord's. The umpires called no-ball. Willes threw the ball down in disgust, called for his horse and rode off into the sunset, scarcely playing again, so ostracised was he by cricket's fraternity. Little did he know that he had planted the seeds of a revolution that would catapult the game into modernity. In 1828, MCC moderated Rule 10 to allow the hand as high as the elbow; in 1835 another change allowed the arm up to shoulder height; in 1845 the benefit of the doubt was declared (as usual) against the bowler; and in 1864, the grand overlords of the game finally succumbed and declared over-arm bowling legal.

But then a funny thing happened, and kept happening for years. Rather than open the floodgates to a new breed of super-fast bowling tyrant, the dominant form of bowling right up to the inter-war period became something the like of which we hardly see in today's game, to the detriment of fans and players alike. In the late-Victorian period, all the most successful bowlers in the game were those who, rather than submit to an illusory need for speed, decided they could have the best of both worlds. They bowled spin, but at medium pace.

In England, three dominated: WG Grace, AG Steel, and George Lohmann. In Australia, a further three stood out: FR Spofforth, Monty Noble and Hugh Trumble. Each in turn pre-empted the rise, and extraordinary success, of the most complete bowler that ever lived, that cantankerous English rascal Sydney Barnes. He too was a medium-paced spinner. In fact, if you visit ESPNcricinfo and look to see who has the best career averages and best strike-rate in Tests, you'll alight on Lohmann (with Barnes not too far behind). All of which rather begs a question: if medium-pace spin was so effective, why on earth did it die out?

Before answering that question, it may be worth establishing the credentials of these bowlers by focusing briefly on Barnes who, understood in the proper context, is really their apogee. The dashing county player Jack Meyer said Barnes was definitely quicker than Alec Bedser, which seems astonishing. My guess is that, depending on the pitch, Barnes would hit around 70 or even 75mph. If you're a club cricketer, that's probably up there with the fastest you've faced. CB Fry said of him that: "in the matter of pace he may be regarded either as a fast or fast-medium bowler. He certainly bowled faster some days than others; and on his fastest day he was distinctly fast."

And yet, as he brought his arm over, Barnes gave the ball an almighty rip. I'm not talking here about using seam and swing to extract cut from the pitch. I'm talking full-on spin, with a couple of special attributes. That is why John Arlott could say of Barnes: "He was a right-arm, fast-medium bowler with the accuracy, spin and resource of a slow bowler." Note that Arlott, who always chose his words carefully, describes Barnes not as medium or even medium-fast, but as fast-medium. And that he was a genuine, even prodigious, spinner of the ball is evidenced by Barnes' account of an extraordinary meeting with Noble.

My guess is that, depending on the pitch, Barnes would hit around 70 or even 75mph. If you're a club cricketer, that's probably up there with the fastest you've faced

Twirlymen constitute a special breed within cricket, a fraternity that bestows special privileges on its members, and through the ages spinners have met with each other to pass on the wisdom they have gleaned. Shane Warne and Abdul Qadir once sat across a Persian carpet from each other in the latter's house in Pakistan, spinning oranges hither and thither. Similarly, Barnes said he once asked Noble: "if he would care to tell me how he managed to bring the ball back against the swerve.

"He said it was possible to put two poles down the wicket, one 10 or 11 yards from the bowling crease and another one five or six yards from the batsman, and to bowl a ball outside the first pole and make it swing to the off-side of the other pole and then nip back and hit the wickets. That's how I learned to spin a ball and make it swing. It is also possible to bowl in between these two poles, pitch the ball outside leg stump and hit the wicket. I spent hours trying all this out in the nets."

For such a fastidious man, Barnes is rather lazy in conflating "swerve" and "swing" here. What he means by both is what we today refer to as "drift": the glorious tendency of a spinning ball to move in the air in the opposite direction to the eventual spin off the wicket. Unlike modern spinners, Barnes' wrist was slightly cocked back at the point of release, as if he was screwing or unscrewing a light bulb above his head (screwing for the offbreak; unscrewing for the legbreak). This, for reasons only a better physicist than I could tell you, compensates in accentuated swerve for what it sacrifices in turn off the wicket.

So the picture we have of the man who took 189 wickets in just 27 Tests at 16.43, with a wicket every seven overs - and a record 49 wickets in four Tests against South Africa in 1913-14 (he refused to play the last Test in a dispute over his wife's hotel fare) - is of genuine pace and genuine spin combined. He was perhaps quicker, and spun the ball more, than the other swift pioneers of the late-Victorian period. But is there any good reason that modern bowlers resolutely refuse to ape Barnes' astonishingly successful method? My answer is emphatically no.

It's true that there has been a conspiracy against spinners throughout the course of the game - shorter boundaries, limited overs, bigger bats, video replays (which cost them dearly until Hawk-Eye) came in and, above all, covered pitches. The last of these may partly explain the dwindling of the art. But there are three other possible reasons too: first, fashion; second, modern coaching; and third, sheer laziness.

None of these are forgivable, of course, particularly the needless and harmful conservatism of coaches who insist young players specialise early. Barnes had only three hours of coaching in his entire life. He would scoff at the refusal of fast bowlers to learn the art of spin, and vice versa; and if there is no good reason to keep the two art forms distinct, there must be hope that some brave young bowler could raise the spirit of medium-pace spin from the sporting grave to which it has prematurely been consigned. If he had the wit just to try, and the talent to come into mild success, lovers of the game the world over would be eternally in his debt for reacquainting cricket with a once great technique.

This piece was first published in The Nightwatchman, the Wisden Cricket Quarterly, a collection of essays and long-form articles that launched in spring 2013. Free sampler here

In the last year or so of his international career Paul Collingwood seemed to start bowling medium paced off breaks. Slower than his normal medium pace seamers, but giving the ball a bit of a tweak.

Way back in my village cricket days I used to bowl medium paced offies. By first class standard they would be considered slow, but I was as quick as the other medium pacers and gave it a tweak. On our home pitch I was accurate and miserly, but not very penetrative as the ball didn't do much off the pitch. On wickets with a bit of turn I was largely unplayable, but sadly the wicketkeeper was also the captain and didn't like bowling me as he kept conceding byes off me.

N
on June 4, 2013, 23:45 GMT

I am a bit surprised that there are limited parallels or contrasts drawn to Chandrasekhar. Spin at pace was Chandra's calling card though I suppose swerve was not part of his lexicon.

Nicholas
on June 4, 2013, 15:16 GMT

Years ago, Liverpool CC had a fast spinner called Geoff Blackburn. Although only a club player, Geoff was a 'pro' for years in the Bolton League; at a time when almost all the other pros were either Test or international players. He kept getting buckets of wickets and being re-engaged...and they don't part with their money easily in the Bolton League!!

Dummy4
on June 4, 2013, 11:16 GMT

The references to Underwood, Kumbli, Mendis and Prasad are clearly those who we have seen with our own eyes and therefore can understand. None of us have seen anything like Barnes and we need to keep in mind his pace relative to Bedser who was "sharp" despite the fact that Evans stood up to the wicket to take him. I have direct experience of Underwood who I would estimate at between 65 mph- 70 mph and Underwood was quicker than the others mentioned. Bedser would have been a couple of yards quicker (8 mph) than Underwood and so we are effectively speaking of the upper 70's/early 80's which corresponds with Arlotts "fast medium" description with "fast" being 85-90mph. Spin at that pace doesn't exist today; it has little to do with covered pitches as Barnes bowled a lot on the hard pitches of South Africa and Australia. And it has little to do with the standard spinners fast ball - which can be distinctly sharp - but is usually bowled with a seamers grip and therefore doesn't spin.

Nabeel
on June 4, 2013, 9:36 GMT

The author shouldn't forget Ventesh Prasad. He was well not very quick but he did spin the ball (leg cutters), and got a lot of wickets as well.

Robert
on June 4, 2013, 8:51 GMT

The reference to Underwood is definitely relevant. Perhaps even more reminiscent of Barnes was Bob Appleyard, who was more versatile and could open the bowling as a genuine new ball bowler. His career was short, sadly interrupted by tuberculosis and an intractable shoulder injury, but his record was astounding. He would have had more overs in the Tests he played if England had not had Tyson and Statham to destroy Australia. Even so he was instrumental in the crushing defeat of Australia in 1954-55. Fred Trueman regarded him as among the greatest bowlers of all time.

David
on June 4, 2013, 8:29 GMT

Between wars Australian bowler Tiger O'Reilly was another quick spin bowler. As a newspaper columnist in later years he always complained that spinners bowled too slow. I accept Nicholas Hughes mention of Underwood, which reminds me again what a great wicketkeeper Knott was, keeping to Underwood for both county and country. Imagine trying to keep to Barnes, spin at 75 mph!

Dummy4
on June 4, 2013, 8:01 GMT

There's an example of medium pace spin in the post war era with video footage of them to learn from: Derek Underwood. Fantastic on uncovered pitches but still excellent on any type of wicket, it's surprising no one has tried to emulate him since.

Philip
on June 4, 2013, 7:48 GMT

The pitches were different then, but Barnes, if he were alive today, would undoubtedly still take cheap wickets by the truckload. Some reasons were given as to the extinction of this type of bowling. I would, however, add another obvious reason - modern fitness. Most top modern bowlers are incredibly fit. Yet they are not fitter than those of Barnes' era. They are just differently fit. I would bet that certain wrist, arm and shoulder strength that Barnes must have had would not be easily found today. Why? Because the methods of achieving fitness are as different today as the pitches are. Barnes & Lohmann etc wouldn't have gotten their fitness from a gym. If it wasn't entirely work fitness, from hard physical labour, it was from constantly practising the art of bowling. Now that is a win-win situation. You get the fitness, but also get the skill acquisition. Today fitness and skill acquisition are divorced from each other and that is why Barnes' style will probably never be seen again.

Alan
on June 4, 2013, 7:43 GMT

Anil Kumble was the nearest I've seen to this description: medium paced legbreaks. Shahid Afridi on his some days too. And a young Ajantha Mendis described himself as a "medium pacer" when he turned up at the bowling camp where he was "discovered".

I think covered pitches are mostly responsible for the decline in the style: finger spinners (as Barnes, Lohman, etc were) get far less purchase out of today's flatter pitches. So wrist spin is necessary to impart more revs on the ball, but it's also much harder and with less world class practitioners.

Dave
on June 5, 2013, 8:16 GMT

In the last year or so of his international career Paul Collingwood seemed to start bowling medium paced off breaks. Slower than his normal medium pace seamers, but giving the ball a bit of a tweak.

Way back in my village cricket days I used to bowl medium paced offies. By first class standard they would be considered slow, but I was as quick as the other medium pacers and gave it a tweak. On our home pitch I was accurate and miserly, but not very penetrative as the ball didn't do much off the pitch. On wickets with a bit of turn I was largely unplayable, but sadly the wicketkeeper was also the captain and didn't like bowling me as he kept conceding byes off me.

N
on June 4, 2013, 23:45 GMT

I am a bit surprised that there are limited parallels or contrasts drawn to Chandrasekhar. Spin at pace was Chandra's calling card though I suppose swerve was not part of his lexicon.

Nicholas
on June 4, 2013, 15:16 GMT

Years ago, Liverpool CC had a fast spinner called Geoff Blackburn. Although only a club player, Geoff was a 'pro' for years in the Bolton League; at a time when almost all the other pros were either Test or international players. He kept getting buckets of wickets and being re-engaged...and they don't part with their money easily in the Bolton League!!

Dummy4
on June 4, 2013, 11:16 GMT

The references to Underwood, Kumbli, Mendis and Prasad are clearly those who we have seen with our own eyes and therefore can understand. None of us have seen anything like Barnes and we need to keep in mind his pace relative to Bedser who was "sharp" despite the fact that Evans stood up to the wicket to take him. I have direct experience of Underwood who I would estimate at between 65 mph- 70 mph and Underwood was quicker than the others mentioned. Bedser would have been a couple of yards quicker (8 mph) than Underwood and so we are effectively speaking of the upper 70's/early 80's which corresponds with Arlotts "fast medium" description with "fast" being 85-90mph. Spin at that pace doesn't exist today; it has little to do with covered pitches as Barnes bowled a lot on the hard pitches of South Africa and Australia. And it has little to do with the standard spinners fast ball - which can be distinctly sharp - but is usually bowled with a seamers grip and therefore doesn't spin.

Nabeel
on June 4, 2013, 9:36 GMT

The author shouldn't forget Ventesh Prasad. He was well not very quick but he did spin the ball (leg cutters), and got a lot of wickets as well.

Robert
on June 4, 2013, 8:51 GMT

The reference to Underwood is definitely relevant. Perhaps even more reminiscent of Barnes was Bob Appleyard, who was more versatile and could open the bowling as a genuine new ball bowler. His career was short, sadly interrupted by tuberculosis and an intractable shoulder injury, but his record was astounding. He would have had more overs in the Tests he played if England had not had Tyson and Statham to destroy Australia. Even so he was instrumental in the crushing defeat of Australia in 1954-55. Fred Trueman regarded him as among the greatest bowlers of all time.

David
on June 4, 2013, 8:29 GMT

Between wars Australian bowler Tiger O'Reilly was another quick spin bowler. As a newspaper columnist in later years he always complained that spinners bowled too slow. I accept Nicholas Hughes mention of Underwood, which reminds me again what a great wicketkeeper Knott was, keeping to Underwood for both county and country. Imagine trying to keep to Barnes, spin at 75 mph!

Dummy4
on June 4, 2013, 8:01 GMT

There's an example of medium pace spin in the post war era with video footage of them to learn from: Derek Underwood. Fantastic on uncovered pitches but still excellent on any type of wicket, it's surprising no one has tried to emulate him since.

Philip
on June 4, 2013, 7:48 GMT

The pitches were different then, but Barnes, if he were alive today, would undoubtedly still take cheap wickets by the truckload. Some reasons were given as to the extinction of this type of bowling. I would, however, add another obvious reason - modern fitness. Most top modern bowlers are incredibly fit. Yet they are not fitter than those of Barnes' era. They are just differently fit. I would bet that certain wrist, arm and shoulder strength that Barnes must have had would not be easily found today. Why? Because the methods of achieving fitness are as different today as the pitches are. Barnes & Lohmann etc wouldn't have gotten their fitness from a gym. If it wasn't entirely work fitness, from hard physical labour, it was from constantly practising the art of bowling. Now that is a win-win situation. You get the fitness, but also get the skill acquisition. Today fitness and skill acquisition are divorced from each other and that is why Barnes' style will probably never be seen again.

Alan
on June 4, 2013, 7:43 GMT

Anil Kumble was the nearest I've seen to this description: medium paced legbreaks. Shahid Afridi on his some days too. And a young Ajantha Mendis described himself as a "medium pacer" when he turned up at the bowling camp where he was "discovered".

I think covered pitches are mostly responsible for the decline in the style: finger spinners (as Barnes, Lohman, etc were) get far less purchase out of today's flatter pitches. So wrist spin is necessary to impart more revs on the ball, but it's also much harder and with less world class practitioners.

Mark
on June 4, 2013, 6:49 GMT

Agree with japdb. Reading Pum Warner's 1911 cricket book reveals that wickets in the golden age were often "gravelly", which meant a shifting surface on a more solid base, which is perfect for fast-paced spin. It simply would not be as effective on the manicured roads that are prepared these days. Most of the more incredible bowling averages like that of Barnes & Lohmann were from this period, as were generally low batting averages (greats like Trumper, Hill and Fry only averaged in the 30s), which reflects the difficult wickets that were played on.

Dummy4
on June 4, 2013, 5:40 GMT

I recall some spinners suddenly hurling fast ones - once I saw Venkat hurling a fasts straight one at an Andhra Batsman - Jugal Kishore Ghia I think and you have McMillan's bouncer to Sachin in NZ, but Chandra was definitely faster than Abid and Solkar

madhurendra
on June 4, 2013, 3:36 GMT

actually, relevant for india- after fergie gupte in 50s india havent produced a top quality traditional wrist spinner; the success stories were chandra and kumble both could be described as medium (ok kumble more slow medium) , tall with bounce. traditional leggies dont get too many wickets in india. best if coaches encourage tall leggies too bowl at medium.

Joe
on June 4, 2013, 3:17 GMT

Perhaps its something to do with changing wickets (i.e. wickets made to last - more rolling etc), in modern times covered wickets and longer days play and longer matches. Remember once tests were just 3 days play with only 5 hours per day.

Robert
on June 4, 2013, 8:51 GMT

The reference to Underwood is definitely relevant. Perhaps even more reminiscent of Barnes was Bob Appleyard, who was more versatile and could open the bowling as a genuine new ball bowler. His career was short, sadly interrupted by tuberculosis and an intractable shoulder injury, but his record was astounding. He would have had more overs in the Tests he played if England had not had Tyson and Statham to destroy Australia. Even so he was instrumental in the crushing defeat of Australia in 1954-55. Fred Trueman regarded him as among the greatest bowlers of all time.

David
on June 4, 2013, 8:29 GMT

Between wars Australian bowler Tiger O'Reilly was another quick spin bowler. As a newspaper columnist in later years he always complained that spinners bowled too slow. I accept Nicholas Hughes mention of Underwood, which reminds me again what a great wicketkeeper Knott was, keeping to Underwood for both county and country. Imagine trying to keep to Barnes, spin at 75 mph!

Philip
on June 4, 2013, 7:48 GMT

The pitches were different then, but Barnes, if he were alive today, would undoubtedly still take cheap wickets by the truckload. Some reasons were given as to the extinction of this type of bowling. I would, however, add another obvious reason - modern fitness. Most top modern bowlers are incredibly fit. Yet they are not fitter than those of Barnes' era. They are just differently fit. I would bet that certain wrist, arm and shoulder strength that Barnes must have had would not be easily found today. Why? Because the methods of achieving fitness are as different today as the pitches are. Barnes & Lohmann etc wouldn't have gotten their fitness from a gym. If it wasn't entirely work fitness, from hard physical labour, it was from constantly practising the art of bowling. Now that is a win-win situation. You get the fitness, but also get the skill acquisition. Today fitness and skill acquisition are divorced from each other and that is why Barnes' style will probably never be seen again.

Joe
on June 4, 2013, 3:17 GMT

Perhaps its something to do with changing wickets (i.e. wickets made to last - more rolling etc), in modern times covered wickets and longer days play and longer matches. Remember once tests were just 3 days play with only 5 hours per day.

madhurendra
on June 4, 2013, 3:36 GMT

actually, relevant for india- after fergie gupte in 50s india havent produced a top quality traditional wrist spinner; the success stories were chandra and kumble both could be described as medium (ok kumble more slow medium) , tall with bounce. traditional leggies dont get too many wickets in india. best if coaches encourage tall leggies too bowl at medium.

Dummy4
on June 4, 2013, 5:40 GMT

I recall some spinners suddenly hurling fast ones - once I saw Venkat hurling a fasts straight one at an Andhra Batsman - Jugal Kishore Ghia I think and you have McMillan's bouncer to Sachin in NZ, but Chandra was definitely faster than Abid and Solkar

Mark
on June 4, 2013, 6:49 GMT

Agree with japdb. Reading Pum Warner's 1911 cricket book reveals that wickets in the golden age were often "gravelly", which meant a shifting surface on a more solid base, which is perfect for fast-paced spin. It simply would not be as effective on the manicured roads that are prepared these days. Most of the more incredible bowling averages like that of Barnes & Lohmann were from this period, as were generally low batting averages (greats like Trumper, Hill and Fry only averaged in the 30s), which reflects the difficult wickets that were played on.

Alan
on June 4, 2013, 7:43 GMT

Anil Kumble was the nearest I've seen to this description: medium paced legbreaks. Shahid Afridi on his some days too. And a young Ajantha Mendis described himself as a "medium pacer" when he turned up at the bowling camp where he was "discovered".

I think covered pitches are mostly responsible for the decline in the style: finger spinners (as Barnes, Lohman, etc were) get far less purchase out of today's flatter pitches. So wrist spin is necessary to impart more revs on the ball, but it's also much harder and with less world class practitioners.

Philip
on June 4, 2013, 7:48 GMT

The pitches were different then, but Barnes, if he were alive today, would undoubtedly still take cheap wickets by the truckload. Some reasons were given as to the extinction of this type of bowling. I would, however, add another obvious reason - modern fitness. Most top modern bowlers are incredibly fit. Yet they are not fitter than those of Barnes' era. They are just differently fit. I would bet that certain wrist, arm and shoulder strength that Barnes must have had would not be easily found today. Why? Because the methods of achieving fitness are as different today as the pitches are. Barnes & Lohmann etc wouldn't have gotten their fitness from a gym. If it wasn't entirely work fitness, from hard physical labour, it was from constantly practising the art of bowling. Now that is a win-win situation. You get the fitness, but also get the skill acquisition. Today fitness and skill acquisition are divorced from each other and that is why Barnes' style will probably never be seen again.

Dummy4
on June 4, 2013, 8:01 GMT

There's an example of medium pace spin in the post war era with video footage of them to learn from: Derek Underwood. Fantastic on uncovered pitches but still excellent on any type of wicket, it's surprising no one has tried to emulate him since.

David
on June 4, 2013, 8:29 GMT

Between wars Australian bowler Tiger O'Reilly was another quick spin bowler. As a newspaper columnist in later years he always complained that spinners bowled too slow. I accept Nicholas Hughes mention of Underwood, which reminds me again what a great wicketkeeper Knott was, keeping to Underwood for both county and country. Imagine trying to keep to Barnes, spin at 75 mph!

Robert
on June 4, 2013, 8:51 GMT

The reference to Underwood is definitely relevant. Perhaps even more reminiscent of Barnes was Bob Appleyard, who was more versatile and could open the bowling as a genuine new ball bowler. His career was short, sadly interrupted by tuberculosis and an intractable shoulder injury, but his record was astounding. He would have had more overs in the Tests he played if England had not had Tyson and Statham to destroy Australia. Even so he was instrumental in the crushing defeat of Australia in 1954-55. Fred Trueman regarded him as among the greatest bowlers of all time.

Nabeel
on June 4, 2013, 9:36 GMT

The author shouldn't forget Ventesh Prasad. He was well not very quick but he did spin the ball (leg cutters), and got a lot of wickets as well.

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